Starlink restrictions persist in Ukraine despite Trump
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Businessday
Speed restrictions on the Starlink network remain in force in Ukraine, notably limiting communications for drones flying faster than 160 km/h. Ukrainian officials thus deny Donald Trump’s claim that Elon Musk had fully restored access, reports Businessday.
Speed restrictions imposed on Starlink connections in Ukraine were still in force on Friday, despite US President Donald Trump’s claim that access to the service had been fully restored. Five Ukrainian officials familiar with the matter told Reuters that drones flying faster than 160 km/h continued to experience disruption.
Serhiy Beskrestnov, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said he had seen no lifting of the limits. He mentioned a few isolated cases of connections exceeding the threshold slightly, which he attributed to SpaceX’s algorithm or usage conditions. An official from Ukraine’s Defence Ministry and two other officials also confirmed to Reuters that the restrictions remained in place.
The speed caps have been in place since 13 October, as relations between Kyiv and Washington have deteriorated. According to Zelensky, the limitations complicate defence against Russian drone attacks and Ukrainian military operations on the front, where Starlink terminals are used to pilot drones towards occupied territories. Denys Sienik, from Ukraine’s embassy in the United States, said Kyiv was still awaiting the lifting of the restrictions.
The continued limits come after Donald Trump said on Thursday that SpaceX chief Elon Musk had restored Ukrainian access to Starlink. The US president had previously announced a deal to purchase Russian diesel, abandoned new sanctions against Moscow and asked Ukraine to stop attacking Russian refineries. On 23 October, Trump also said he would call Elon Musk if Ukraine’s military network remained disrupted, according to a previous article on his possible call to the SpaceX chief.
